The Bacon Brothers, who perform at The American Theatre in Hampton on Saturday, don't seem to be merely dabbling in music, though. Actor Kevin Bacon and his television soundtrack composing brother, Michael, take their rocking seriously.

"I would never ask somebody to listen to music just because they like me in a movie," Kevin Bacon told ABC's "Good Morning America" earlier this year.

"We've tried to build the band in the most grassroots way ... and play little, tiny clubs, and build it as slowly and meticulously as possible ... [We've] really tried with a lot of hard work."

The Bacon Brothers have been pursuing their sideline with vigor for nearly 15 years. The group's blend of alternative country, soul and rootsy rock stems from a concentration on songwriting.

"We're not going back to anything and we're not trying to channel anything," Michael Bacon told the Courier News of Bridgewater, N.J. "I think the eclecticism really comes more from [the fact that] we're not the greatest singers in the world, we're not the greatest players in the world. We sink or swim on our songwriting."

The band's newest album, " New Year's Day," features the growling, groovy rock on the disc's title track, funky soul on "Go My Way (The iPod Song)" and something akin to Southern rock on a tune called "Almost Got Rich."

Reviews have been lukewarm.

"As Kevin and his brother, Michael, put out their sixth release, you have to wonder how many sequels they have left in them," wrote a reviewer for the San Diego Union-Tribune. "For a pair of brothers who've been playing together off and on 14 years, it seems like they would be more advanced than this."

Entertainment Weekly was marginally more positive.

"Kevin and his bro Michael serve up alt-country that's fine in moderation," a critic wrote, "kind of like bacon."

Even after 15 years, Kevin Bacon still gets a bit nervous before he steps on stage to play. "There's always just a little bit of butterflies," he told the Home News Tribune in New Jersey, "which is a really important thing for a performer, I think, to have that kind of energy that comes from knowing that it could be a good show or it could suck ... You never really know."

News to Use Who: The Bacon Brothers
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: The American Theatre, Hampton
Tickets: $40, The show has sold out.More information: 722-2787 or hamptonarts.net